By Admin. Updated 9:19 a.m., Sunday, June 21, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
A visually impaired student from Fair Hall Government School has emerged as one of the country’s top-performing girls in the 2026 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), earning widespread praise for an achievement being hailed as a triumph of determination, family support and inclusive education.
Faith Grant placed 19th among girls and 43rd overall in this year’s examination, according to information shared publicly on Saturday by former East St George parliamentary representative Camillo Gonsalves.
Grant, who is blind, completed the same CPEA examination as her peers with approved accommodations that enabled her to access the test material. According to Gonsalves, questions and diagrams were interpreted for her through specialised assistance during the examination process.
Her performance has earned her placement at the Girls’ High School, fulfilling a goal she had reportedly set for herself years ago.
Gonsalves described Grant’s accomplishment as “an incredible story” and commended the student, her parents and the staff of Fair Hall Government School for their role in her success.
He also highlighted the school’s longstanding efforts to integrate students with a range of learning and physical challenges into mainstream education, noting that the institution has developed a reputation for inclusive teaching practices and support services.
Grant’s achievement comes against the backdrop of encouraging national results in the 2026 CPEA. Preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Education show that 1,557 of the 1,760 students who sat the examination met the prescribed standard, representing 88.47 per cent of candidates. The figure marks a slight improvement over the 87.34 per cent recorded in 2025.
The Ministry reported that the top-performing student nationally was Draádon A. Ackie of Richland Park Seventh-day Adventist School, who achieved an average score of 98.2 per cent.
While Grant was not among the national top 10 students announced by the Ministry, her accomplishment has drawn particular attention because of the barriers she has had to overcome throughout her educational journey.
Gonsalves said Grant is multilingual, an avid reader and has demonstrated strong aptitude in mathematics and science. He also noted that she was among the prize recipients at Fair Hall Government School’s graduation ceremony earlier this month.
The former minister further appealed to members of the corporate community to consider supporting Grant as she prepares for secondary school, pointing to the cost of specialised educational tools and assistive technologies that can aid students who are blind, including resources that support Braille literacy and access to complex diagrams and other learning materials.
The Ministry of Education, in its release of the preliminary CPEA results, congratulated all students and thanked teachers, school staff and other stakeholders for their support throughout the examination process.
For many Vincentians, however, Faith Grant’s success stands as a powerful reminder that academic excellence can flourish when determination is matched by opportunity, support and inclusion.
